MAIN Market-listed electronic manufacturing services (EMS) solutions provider with global presence, Cape EMS Bhd, has entered into a strategic manufacturing collaboration agreement with Singapore-based advanced manufacturing firm Guardian South East Asia Pte Ltd.
The deal sealed through the group’s wholly owned US-based subsidiary iConn Inc which came into effect today (March 12) for an initial three-year term with the option for renewal upon mutual agreement establishes Guardian SEA as an approved strategic manufacturing partner within iConn’s global intelligent manufacturing network.
Guardian SEA is backed by fellow listed EMS player V.S. Industry Bhd, one of Southeast Asia’s leading electronics manufacturing services providers.
Through this platform-based model, iConn integrates engineering, programme management and digital manufacturing orchestration across multiple geographies to deliver scalable production solutions for multinational OEM (original equipment manufacturer) customers.
Under this framework, Guardian SEA will support selected iConn projects involving precision CNC machining, mechanical component production, chemical etching, metal stamping and plastic injection moulding alongside sub-assembly manufacturing, design-for-manufacturability (DFM) advisory and testing services.
Spurring Cape EMS’s CEB 2.0 strategy
“By integrating Guardian SEA into iConn’s manufacturing network, we can immediately scale our precision manufacturing capacity to meet international demand without incurring significant capital expenditure,” commented Cape EMS’ managing director and group CEO Christina Tee Kim Chin.
“With the backing of two major listed groups, our multinational customers gain the confidence required to deploy high-value manufacturing programs across Southeast Asia.”
All in all, the iConn-Guardian SEA partnership further advances the group’s strategic transformation under its CEB 2.0 growth framework.
Amid supporting global OEMs in the China+1 supply chain shift, iConn’s US-based customers are already actively seeking reliable, high-precision manufacturing alternatives as they diversify global supply chains.
“This partnership allows us to bridge that demand with top-tier Southeast Asian execution managed through iConn’s digital manufacturing platform built on the Oracle NetSuite,” enthused iConn’s CEO Turker Hidirlar.
“At the same time, our US-based engineering teams are actively helping customers transition manufacturing programmes from China to Southeast Asia while supporting new product introductions through close collaboration with customer NPI (new product introduction) and product development organisations.”
As it is, IConn’s development, programmre management and R&D (research & development) teams are already engaged in the design and engineering of new components and sub-assemblies using advanced metrology and validation processes.
“As a result, we’re currently advancing dozens of strategic programmes and precision components across our global manufacturing network, including on-going collaborations with VSI,” shared Hidirlar.
At the close of today’s (March 12) market trading, Cape EMS was down 1 sen or 3.39% to 28.5 sen with 2.32 million shares traded, thus valuing the company at RM283 mil. – March 12, 2026
